Nile Rodgers Defends Lady Gaga’s David Bowie Tribute at the Grammys

Nile Rodgers has taken to Twitter to defend Lady Gaga's medley tribute to David Bowie at this year's Grammy Awards. "We did what we thought and still think was right in our short time slot," said Rodgers, who rose to fame in the '70s as the leader of Chic, the disco group that hit the top of the charts with songs like "Le Freak" and "Good Times."

Rodgers later produced Bowie's chart-topping 1983 platinum album Let's Dance, which likely led to his serving as musical director and sideman for Lady Gaga's salute. Her Grammy performance included snippets of many Bowie favorites, including "Space Oddity," "Changes," "Ziggy Stardust," "Suffragette City," "Rebel Rebel," "Fashion," "Fame," "Under Pressure," "Let's Dance" and "Heroes."

The format, which resembled a Broadway revue, generated a lot of criticism, but Rodgers said the complaints were nothing more than a "difference of opinion."

Bowie's son Duncan Jones later appeared to join in the chorus of critics – he used words like "overexcited or irrational" and "mentally confused" in a Grammy-night tweet – and Rodgers also addressed that. "He has a right to his feelings and opinions too," Rodgers said. "My brother's favorite works of mine are all my instrumentals."

In the end, Rodgers said it came down to following your own vision. "If David or I tried to listen to everyone, we'd have never finished ANYTHING!" he said.